1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to a campfire utensil and accessory holder assembly and, more particularly, to a portable campfire utensil (e.g., a fork, a pair of tongs, etcetera) and accessory (e.g., a round, square, or double square hobo pie iron, a waffle iron, a hotdog/bratwurst cooker, a hamburger griller, a s'more maker, etcetera) holder assembly that is preferably adapted to be readily converted between a compact, inoperative storage configuration and one or more operative deployed or use configurations, and vice versa. Among other things, the campfire utensil and accessory holder assembly: prevents damage to the utensils and accessories before and after use while near a campfire; prevents injury, including burns and puncture wounds, to those in close proximity to the campfire; and keeps the utensils and accessories generally clean and sand free in outdoor environments.
2. Background Art
Utensil holders, racks and stands have been known in the art for years, and are the subject of numerous patents, including, for example: U.S. Pat. No. 7,080,811 B2 entitled “Utensil Holder,” U.S. Pat. No. 6,719,250 B2 entitled “Backpacker's Cooking Stand,” U.S. Pat. No. 6,029,646 entitled “Adjustable Outdoor Cooking Rack,” U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,480 entitled “Multi-purpose Support Frame For Cooking Grill,” U.S. Pat. No. 4,688,685 entitled “Rack Assembly For Elongated Objects,” U.S. Pat. No. 4,548,193 entitled “Multi-purpose Portable Outdoor Cooking Stand,” U.S. Pat. No. 4,320,700 entitled “Barbeque Fork Holder,” U.S. Pat. No. 1,061,431 entitled “Stand And Fork For Toasting,” U.S. Pat. No. 228,998 entitled “Knife And Fork Holder,” and United States Patent Application Publication Number 2009/0025572 A1 entitled “Apparatus For Holding Food Items For Roasting In A Fire,” all of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety—including all references cited therein.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,080,811 B2 appears to disclose a utensil holder that is designed for easy holding and removal of a utensil to be supported therein. The utensil holder in one embodiment is a continuous rod that includes a carriage having a first configured arrangement and a second configured arrangement. The configured arrangements form an inverted wedge and a U-shaped portion, respectively. In some embodiments, the inverted wedge defines an inverted V-shaped opening. The inverted V-shaped opening wedges the handle of a utensil and the U-shaped portion supports the utensil in a cantilevered position. In an alternate embodiment, an extended portion can hold a wider utensil while an inverted wedge in another plane can hold a utensil having a cylindrical handle. The utensil holder in some embodiments is designed to hold utensils for cooking food over campfires.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,719,250 B2 appears to disclose a backpacker's portable cooking stand that can be used for outdoor cooking and can be foldable to a compact configuration and includes a cooking platform for mounting over a source of heat, as well as foldable legs that are pivoted to over center attitudes for stable use of the cooking stand over a fire and are folded to a compact configuration for travelling.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,029,646 appears to disclose an outdoor cooking rack apparatus that comprises a grooved support post for support of cooking platforms, and a cooking platform for supporting a pot, grill or other device over a campfire. Additionally, the outdoor cooking rack apparatus may comprise a kettle hook attached to the apparatus for holding a kettle or other pot over a campfire. The cooking platforms contain a leveling bend in their attachment arm allowing them to hold pots and other utensils in a level position. Purported benefits of the cooking rack apparatus include: the ability to be vertically adjustable; the ability to receive a number of different cooking platforms; the ability to swing cooking platforms, within a horizontal plane, to the side or even rear of the apparatus; the ability to securely hold various cooking platforms in place; the ability to hold cooking platforms generally level and within a plane perpendicular to the support post; strength and durability; and setting up the apparatus requires no tools.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,480 appears to disclose a multi-purpose support frame for supporting a cooking grill in an elevated position. The support frame comprises a support base with a support rod secured to the base and extending vertically above an end of the base. A support arm is secured to the rod and extends above and over the support base. The support arm has spaced-apart attachment elements for engaging cooperating parts of the grill for retaining the grill substantially horizontally above the support base. The grill is adjustably positioned in height above the support base by an adjustment member secured to the support rod. A handle is associated with the grill.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,688,685 appears to disclose a rack assembly for skis and ski poles or other elongated objects. The assembly comprises a base portion, a central member upstanding from the base portion, and lower and upper sprocket members mounted on the central member, each of the sprocket members having a plurality of outwardly extending receiving portions, the upper and lower sprocket members being of the same outside diameter, the receiving portions of the upper sprocket being disposed, in plan, between the receiving portions of the lower sprocket, with the base portion underlying all of the receiving portions.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,548,193 appears to disclose a portable compactly stored outdoor cooking stand that can be used either with a self-contained charcoal compartment or over an open campfire, and can cook in many cooking modes including, open flame grilling, frying, steaming, boiling, and baking. A stand for straddling a campfire site vertically arranges one or more of three encompassed cooking utensils, namely a grill cooking surface, a pan for holding food or charcoal, and a vented cover for release of smoke, fumes, or steam. The pan and cover mate to form a portable suitcase-like carrying case with a handle that contains all the other elements for transport and compact storage when not in use.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,320,700 appears to disclose an apparatus for suspending one or more long-shafted forks in a vertical position for storage and in a horizontal operative position whereby the forks may be used to hold food over an open heat source. The apparatus comprises a base having dimensions sufficient to provide vertical stability, a stand post mounted vertically to the base, an upper bracket adapted to hold the forks vertically at the handles, and a lower bracket having a cradle and hook retaining means for retaining the forks horizontally in the second operative position. The lower bracket is also vertically movable along the stand post, and the hook and cradle retaining means are pivotable about a cross bracket portion of the lower bracket whereby the forks may be adjusted horizontally over the heat source.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,061,431 appears to disclose a stand for holding a toasting fork in any required position in front of a fire for toasting bread or other edibles thereon. The stand and fork are made of wire or other suitable material, and the stand has two uprights, and hooks on the front projecting upward, and those on the back reversed to counterbalance the article being toasted. The stand is either collapsible or rigid and can be fixed or not to a tin tray, with or without hooks on front to hang on fire bars. The fork includes a flat handle to fit snugly in hooks to prevent it turning around.
U.S. Pat. No. 228,998 appears to disclose a knife and fork holder that includes a base or foot of the holder, a body, and a top or handle, which is connected to the body by a screw arranged vertically in the top of the same. Disposed between the body and handle is a horizontally arranged plate or disk with T-shaped slots in its periphery for receiving and holding the forks. There are also a series of narrow elongated slots arranged radially around the top for receiving and holding knives.
United States Patent Application Publication Number 2009/0025572 A1 appears to disclose an appliance for holding food items, such as marshmallows and hot dogs, for roasting against the face of an open fire and includes food-carrying skewers that are rotatably mounted on an axis generally perpendicular to the elongated frame of the device. A drive linkage, manually operated from the opposite end of the frame, rotates the skewers such that the food products are uniformly exposed to the same heating, resulting in uniformly cooked food items without burning.
While utensil holders, racks and stands have been known in the art for years, there is a need for a portable campfire utensil and accessory holder assembly that is adapted to be readily converted between a compact, inoperative storage configuration and one or more operative deployed or use configurations.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent in light of the present specification, claims, and drawings.